


Sigma Epsilon Chi and Other Math Problems

by nagi_schwarz



Series: Read My Lips [20]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-28 00:19:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6306115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/nagi_schwarz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the comment_fic prompt: Any, Any, "What I look forward to is continued immaturity followed by death." (Dave Barry). John Sheppard is a punk. And a genius mathematician. But mostly a punk. Or: pranks by John.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sigma Epsilon Chi and Other Math Problems

John Sheppard was a punk. He was a mathematician of the highest order, handsome, funny, charming, and a punk.  
  
He was an incorrigible prankster. Apparently not hearing noise translated into not making noise, and the number of times he'd sneaked up on Rodney and darted in for a kiss and startled Rodney into flailing and knocking over something important was embarrassing.  
  
John had somehow corralled Lorne into using his vaunted artistic skills (Lorne was a soldier, interpreter, painter, photographer, baker, _impossible_ ) and made a calendar comprised solely of photos of John half-naked and beautiful and borderline workplace inappropriate and then left the calendar on his desk in the lab. (Rodney was more irritated by the fact that someone had stolen said calendar when he'd rushed off to confront John about it than the fact of the calendar itself, but he couldn't tell John that.) (The calendar had both Earth and Lantean months side-by-side and was a work of mathematical genius.) (The calendar also had important dates marked, like Rodney's birthday and Weir's birthday and Lorne's birthday and Teldy's birthday and Rodney desperately needed it back. For birthday reasons, of course.)  
  
The culmination of John's immaturity came when he helped Rodney calculate how to use a black hole to slingshot a dying jumper around a planet so a team could meet up with the Daedalus in space and come home. Rodney copied the formula on the board for Kusanagi and Simpson and Gretchen-maybe-Greta to look at.  
  
"And that," Rodney said with a flourish, "should get our boys and girls home."  
  
Awkward silence followed.  
  
"Really, Rodney? Very mature," Zelenka said.  
  
Rodney blinked. "What? The math is right. It's John's math. Would you doubt John's math?"  
  
"Sigma Epsilon Chi, Rodney?" Gretchen-maybe-Greta shook her head disapprovingly.  
  
And Rodney stared at the whiteboard equations. What was her problem? Using Greek letters as constants was well-accepted mathematical practice. If constants had no name, a mathematician was free to pick his own –  
  
Sigma Epsilon Chi.  
  
S-E-X.  
  
Rodney roared and signed at the same time. "John!"  
  
John, perched on his stool in the corner of the room, collapsed into silent giggles.  
  
Rodney devolved into cussing in French, which Zelenka rolled his eyes at and Gretchen-maybe-Greta looked alarmed at (could she speak French?).  
  
"Well," Simpson said reasonably, a little bewildered, "I think the math looks good."  
  
Lorne, standing opposite beside Rodney so he could speak for John and sign where John could see him, bit back a smirk. Apparently Simpson hadn't caught the joke. At least someone in the science department could be serious when it was necessary.  
  
"But the math is good," Zelenka agreed, and turned to his laptop, typing furiously.  
  
Gretchen-maybe-Greta turned back to her work station as well and started building a model for a simulation.  
  
Simpson signed, "Good job," to John and drifted out of the lab to report to Elizabeth (and try to figure the joke out on his own, no doubt).  
  
Rodney was still pouting a little as he returned to his laptop. John hopped off his stool and crossed the lab. He reached into the little Crown Royal bag on Rodney's desk, plucked out an arcade token, kissed him, and walked away, Lorne trailing behind him.  
  
Rodney couldn't help but smile, and was mollified to hear Lorne say, "Really? You spent forever rewriting the calculations last night for _that?_ "  
  
Later that night, after an enthusiastic round or two of sigma-epsilon-chi, Rodney turned to John and said, "This is what I have to look forward to with you, isn't it? Continued immaturity followed by death."  
  
John smiled and said softly, "Till death do us part," and kissed him.  
  
In the next weekly databurst, Rodney asked Jeannie to give him Kaleb's email address so he could ask Kaleb about how to buy a ring.


End file.
